Pointing devices for controlling the position of a cursor on a display of an electronic device are well known. Such devices include an external mouse, a trackpad, a joystick, a pointing stick, a trackball, and so forth. Just as trackballs may have originated from turning over a mechanical mouse so that the mouse remained stationary while the ball was moved with the user's hand, it has also recently become known to provide for cursor navigation with the movement of a finger or other object above a surface on the electronic device, such as if an optical mouse had been turned over, held in a fixed position, and allowed to sense the movements of a user's finger above the optical sensor. Such devices may be referred to as optical joysticks or optical finger navigation devices.
It is against this background that the teachings herein have been developed.